How to Get the CMA Certification: Requirements, Exam, and Costs

To get the CMA certification, you join the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA), hold a bachelor’s degree, complete two continuous years of qualifying professional experience, and pass both parts of the CMA exam within three years of enrolling in the program.¹ The credential is built around financial planning, analysis, and strategic decision-making rather than auditing or tax preparation.²

The Four Requirements

Four boxes have to be checked before IMA will grant the certification:

Active IMA membership
A bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution
Two continuous years of relevant professional experience
A passing score on both parts of the CMA exam

You can complete these in almost any order. Many candidates begin studying and testing before they have finished their degree or accumulated two years of work. What matters is that everything comes together within seven years of passing the second exam part.³

Degree and Experience

Your bachelor’s degree can be in any field. IMA accepts degrees from institutions accredited by U.S. regional agencies or recognized by the International Association of Universities, so degrees earned abroad can qualify, though you may need an independent credential evaluation to confirm equivalency.³

The two-year experience requirement is for continuous work in management accounting or financial management. Qualifying duties include financial statement preparation, budgeting, forecasting, cost analysis, auditing, or corporate financial planning. Primarily clerical roles — bookkeeper, data-entry clerk, accounts-payable processor — generally do not count. You can complete the experience before you enroll or within seven years after you pass the exam.³

What It Costs

You have to be an active IMA member to register for the exam. For the 2026 testing year, professional membership is $295 a year. Student and academic membership runs $49 or $160 depending on tier. Once you are a member, a one-time, non-refundable CMA entrance fee enrolls you in the certification program: $300 for professionals, $225 for students and academics.⁴

Each exam part carries its own registration fee: $545 per part for professionals, $407 per part for students and academics. Passing both parts on the first attempt therefore costs a professional roughly $1,685 all-in ($295 + $300 + $1,090) and a student or academic member between $1,088 and $1,199.⁴ After certification, a $30 annual CMA maintenance fee applies on top of your membership dues.

Some employers reimburse certification costs as a professional development benefit, so check your company’s education assistance policy before paying out of pocket. Self-employed candidates can generally deduct work-related education expenses, including certification fees, on Schedule C when the education maintains or improves skills needed in their current work; for most salaried employees these costs are not individually deductible under current federal rules.⁵

The Two-Part Exam

The exam has two independent parts, and you can take them in either order.¹ Each part runs four hours: 100 multiple-choice questions worth 75 percent of the score, and two essay scenarios worth 25 percent. A scaled score of at least 360 out of 500 passes.

Part 1 is Financial Planning, Performance, and Analytics. It covers planning and budgeting, performance management, external financial reporting, cost management, internal controls, and technology and analytics. Part 2 is Strategic Financial Management, covering business decision analysis, financial statement analysis, corporate finance, professional ethics, enterprise risk management, and capital investment decisions.⁶

Testing Windows and Scheduling

The exam is offered in three two-month windows a year. For 2026:⁴

January 1 through February 28, with a February 15 registration deadline
May 1 through June 30, with a June 15 registration deadline
September 1 through October 31, with an October 15 registration deadline

After paying your exam registration fee, you receive an authorization number to book a seat through Prometric, which operates the secure testing centers where the CMA is administered.⁷ Remote proctoring is not currently available.⁸ Bring valid government-issued identification and your authorization letter on exam day.

Scoring, Retakes, and the Three-Year Deadline

Scores are not immediate because the essays need separate grading. IMA generally releases results about six to eight weeks after the month you tested. Sit in January, expect scores around mid-March.

If you fail a part, you can retake it during any future window, but only once per window, and each attempt requires a new registration fee.⁸ There is no cap on total retakes as long as you stay within the overall program deadline.

That deadline is three years from the date you enter the CMA program. If you have not passed both parts within three years, any part you already passed expires, and you must repay the entrance fee to start a new three-year clock.⁸

Keeping the Certification Active

Once you earn the CMA, three things keep it active: continuing education, dues, and ethical compliance.

You have to complete 30 hours of Continuing Professional Education each calendar year, including at least two hours of ethics. Qualifying topics track IMA’s Management Accounting Competency Framework and cover areas such as leadership, technology and analytics, reporting and control, strategy, planning and performance, and business operations. CPE earned through outside providers in relevant subjects generally counts.⁹

Your annual IMA membership dues and the $30 CMA maintenance fee also have to stay current. If dues, the maintenance fee, or CPE hours lapse, your certification moves to inactive status and you cannot use the CMA title on professional documents or business cards.¹⁰

Every CMA also has to follow IMA’s Statement of Ethical Professional Practice, which sets standards for competence, confidentiality, integrity, and credibility.¹¹ Violations, including cheating on the exam or breaching the non-disclosure agreement, can lead to revocation.

If your certification does go inactive, you have a two-year window to fix it. Reinstatement means paying current dues and making up the CPE shortfall: 30 hours for the current year plus any deficit from the prior year, with up to 60 hours possible in the following year if the shortfall carries. The two-year remedy cannot be stretched into a third, so a lapse is worth addressing quickly.¹⁰

1
Institute of Management Accountants. About CMA Certification – Accounting Certification
2
Institute of Management Accountants. Governing Boards
3
Institute of Management Accountants. CMA Handbook – Your Guide to Information and Requirements for CMA Certification
4
Institute of Management Accountants. Enroll – How to Become a CMA (Certified Management Accountant)
5
Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 513, Work-Related Education Expenses
6
Institute of Management Accountants. CMA Content Specification Overview
7
Prometric. Institute of Certified Management Accountants (ICMA)
8
Institute of Management Accountants. CMA FAQs
9
Institute of Management Accountants. Maintain and Maximize Your CMA
10
Institute of Management Accountants. Rules and Requirements for Maintaining Certifications CMA/CFM
11
Institute of Management Accountants. IMA Statement of Ethical Professional Practice